Curated OER
So Much Depends Upon...Sixteen-Word Imagery Poems Inspired by Love that Dog by Sharon Creech
After reading Love That Dog by Sharon Creech (and possibly shedding a few tears), middle schoolers work on their own sixteen-word poems with a Six Trait writing activity. They focus on word choice in this activity to capture an...
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Same Setting, Different Moods: Voice and Word Choice Using Lord of the Flies
Whether it's dark, delightful, or somber, set the mood with William Golding's Lord of the Flies. High-schoolers practice descriptive writing by creating the appropriate mood for an original scene, starring one of the book's main characters.
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Beautiful Noise Poetry
"What a beautiful noise comin' up from the street; got a beautiful sound, it's got a beautiful beat..." Use Neil Diamond's "Beautiful Noise" to guide your class through a Six Trait writing activity, in which they write an original poem...
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Setting the Tone with Figurative Language
Explore figurative language with your secondary class. Extending a language arts unit, the lesson prompts middle schoolers to examine how an author's word choice establishes a story's tone, possibly using metaphors, similes,...
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Using Imagery
Show, don't tell! Pairs work together to change a list of telling sentences into showing sentences using picture words that create vivid pictures in the readers’ minds.
Pennsylvania Department of Education
6 Traits: Word Choice
Pupils explore language arts by participating in a vocabulary usage activity. In this word choice lesson, students read examples of great word usage in literature and discuss with the class why some words appear stronger than others....
Curated OER
Descriptive Prompt: Precise Language
Incorporate sensory details into a piece of descriptive writing. First, elementary and middle schoolers improve a piece of writing by using precise, vivid language, as well as appropriate word choice. They then listen to a variety of...
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The Sound of…Poetry!
Scritch, scratch, scritch. It's the sound of pupils writing poetry! Focus on sensory language and onomatopoeia with a writing lesson. After listening to some sounds, learners examine a couple of poems that include sound words and then...
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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Using Vivid Language
Analyze the components of precise wording and vivid language in this language arts lesson plan. Middle school writers illustrate a passage from Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and write a response to a Norman Rockwell print....
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Polar Bear Literacy Activity
Students generate vocabulary words synonymous or related to "noise." In this literacy lesson plan, students listen to the book Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do You Hear? by Bill Martin and Eric Carle and discuss the meaning of vocabulary...
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A Creative Presentation
Bring writing to life with this lesson in which elementary and middle schoolers create a display of the imagery they identify in a series of Gary Paulsen books. They read the suggested materials, identify imagery and descriptive...
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Vivid Verbs
Spice up your writing! Your amateur writers will benefit from concentrating on understanding and improving verb use in writing. An introductory activity addresses weak verbs. A second exercise helps them see the importance of strong...
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Color Poems
Students describe colors. For this descriptive writing lesson, students brainstorm color descriptions using all of the senses except sight. Students write poems including similes, sensory images, and interesting word choice. Examples are...
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Narrative Writing
Fifth graders study narrative writing. In this language arts lesson plan, 5th graders review how an author uses vivid verbs, imagery, and adjectives to capture reader's attention. Students explore literary devices of foreshadowing,...
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Using Onomatopoeia to Tell the Story of an Imaginary Field Trip
Students explore language arts by utilizing word choice to compose a paragraph. For this phonetics lesson, students discuss the importance of a "voice" in their writing as they read the book Rattletrap Car. Students write paragraphs...
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Picture Me with Words
Students search in newspapers for words that describe them or what they like. They gather the words and use them to create a self-portrait. They read "boring" sentences and rewrite them using more descriptive words. They write 10 word...
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Diction: Formal and Informal Language
Coke or Pepsi? Is it the taste or the advertising that determines preference? As part of a study of diction, class members examine two passages, one formal and one informal, about Coca-Cola and Pepsi. In addition, they consider word...
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Borrowing Narrative Skills from Mr. Fletcher: Using a "Prompts in Reverse" Technique to Inspire Your Writers
Help your class find their writing voices with this instructional activity which uses the work of Ralph Fletcher to guide a "Prompt in Reverse" activity. Using the chapter "First Pen" from Fletcher's Marshfield Dreams, learners decipher...
National Endowment for the Humanities
From Courage to Freedom: The Reality behind the Song
Young scholars study how Frederick Douglass uses language to describe a realistic picture of slavery in his writings which are primary source documents. They examine his use of word choice, imagery, irony, and rhetorical appeals and use...
National Endowment for the Humanities
From Courage to Freedom
Learners analyze Frederick Douglass' narrative about Christianity and slavery. In this Frederick Douglass lesson, young scholars read his slave narrative and analyze its word choice, imagery, irony, and rhetorical appeals. Learners...
Curated OER
Reliving History through Slave Narratives
Helpful for an American literature or history unit, this lesson prompts middle schoolers to examine slavery in the United States. They read slave narratives that were part of the Federal Writers' Project and then conduct their own...
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Concrete Poems
Concrete poems, or shape poems as they are sometimes called, are the focus of the eighth lesson in this poetry unit. Young scholars examine several examples of concrete poems and consider how the shape contributes to the poem's meaning.
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Word Play
Students define the steps of the formal writing process, consider the value and quality of the work done by Anne Frank in her personal diary, and create their own diary entries using the writing process outlined in class.
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Narratives
Add to the narrative writing experience. Elementary or middle school writers listen to the teacher read a descriptive passage, then reread the same passage silently. They highlight sensory details and figurative language, then orally...